Third times a charm - Giving up is for rookies May 2022 Updated PLAN 18th APRIL

[Elsa42]

Hello everyone, me again . I’m trying once again to write a pre trip report for our upcoming trip. Third times a charm hey. Some of you may have noticed I had already started another pre trip report for this year after our September 2020 trip was cancelled . After much discussion we've decided to postpone this years trip. Things are looking up and I do think there is a high chance we would have been able to go however there were a few factors that helped us make the decision and I feel postponing it a little longer may result in us getting the trip we were hoping for rather than having a half hearted trip.

With that being said lets get onto the planning… FINALLY. I feel so happy to be reading pre trip reports again and getting back into the planning stages of a holiday. I’ve been away from the DIBB for a while but I’m finally back to the excited feeling of planning a holiday and researching the DIBB for tips and tricks. I know everything is still very much up in the air but with every little thing that starts to change back to normal it gives me hope that we will get our trip. That being said we've said regardless we WILL be going on our Disney trip its just a matter of when.

Lets start talking holidays. The who. Still just the two of us. This holiday has been in the planning stages for 3 years now. For those of you who haven't read my previous trip reports heres a little about us. This is me (Chloe) I’m 27 years of age but will be 28 on our next trip. I’m a qualified veterinary nurse and love all things Disney. I enjoy trying new things every time we go regardless of how small it is. My favourite park has to be Animal Kingdom! I just love the atmosphere there. I dont think I could pick a favourite ride although Fights of passage should get a little mention. I love Disney cruises and a trip to Disney isn't complete without a Disney cruise.

Onto my partner in crime. Heres Ryan, 26 but will be 27 when we go! The last trip was his first and he enjoyed it massively. His favourite ride in Disney is Fight of passage which surprised me as he's a big thrill seeker. He does love the hulk too! He also found a new love for Monsters Inc University while watching it on the Disney Dream. He likes the Pirates of the Caribbean theme tune/ride and will put up meeting characters with me.. although I think he secretly enjoys it.

Some of you may have noticed from my previous pre trip reports that the month has changed. We didn't want to wait until next September and October, November and December were out. January through March would be too cold for the weather we enjoy so it left us with April May or June.

April was coming out a little expensive and due to the easter holidays meant we would have to go at the start of April which put me off slightly and June is the start of the wet season so it really was down to May. I’ve been before in May with mum and we really enjoyed this time of year. I find it very similar to September in regards to crowds and temperature and I also found that in May you dont seem to get the hour of rain in the afternoons every day like you do in September. Ryan also hasn't been in May so it means he gets to try something different.

Im quite excited to go in May again. I enjoy the Flower and garden festival and although Ryan isn't that keen on time at Epcot it will be good to see the festival again.

We did have flights and car hire, tickets, villa and a cruise booked for September so we had a few things to sort out.

The villa was cancelled without an issue. Its friends of a friend and we hadn't paid anything towards it yet so this is cancelled. We are in the process of rebooking this but we are just trying to figure out dates as the villa is currently booked for some of the time we are there. The flights and car hire were surprisingly very easy to sort. Ryan rang up BA and cancelled free of charge with our deposit refunded back to us. We thought cancelling and rebooking would be an easier option than trying to move the flights to another date.

The cruise was a little more difficult. Due to being concierge cancelling/rebooking comes with a fee. I spoke to Disney on the phone and explained we weren't cancelling but just rebooking. I also explained that we may not even be able to travel by September and the kind cast member was able to rebook us onto the May cruise we were hoping for. We are still concierge but going in May means our cruise will not be a halloween on the high seas cruise which will be nice for Ryan to see the Dream without the halloween decorations.

The tickets were very easy too. We had brought our tickets from Attraction Tickets and they've been nothing but helpful. Ive been in contact with them regarding our tickets that expire in September 2021. They informed me that Universal have now extended their tickets until the end of 2022 so we are able to keep these. The Disney tickets do however expire in 2021 but Attraction Tickets have said if we pay the difference between 2021 ticket prices and 2022 they will send us new tickets and we wont lose the money we originally paid. When we brought the tickets we also got 2 x $20 gift cards and a Planet Hollywood gift card and these are all still valid. Im really happy with Attraction Tickets and how helpful they've been and I would highly recommend them to everyone.

So with all that sorted the September trip is officially cancelled and we cant wait to go in May. We currently have tickets and a cruise booked so there is so much more planning to be done. Im going to leave the pre trip there for now. I hope you will follow along with my planning and give me any advice or tips you have!

Speak soon

[gjdjud]

Looking forward to reading along

[Goldia]

Hi Chloe

I hope you're both keeping well. It seems like you've had a hassle free cancellation and re booking experience. May does seem like the perfect time to go with the lovely weather and not too humid like summer. I'd wondered whether you would be tempted by the staycation cruises that are going on this summer around the UK as I know you love to cruise. I looked into Some of them but the prices are eye wateringly high!

Looking at your countdown you will be able to do your 'less than a year' dance soon ... I know you must be disappointed that the trip this September isn't going ahead, but that just means more time for you to plan your trip. How many parks in one day are you thinking? I'm sure you've got an inkling of a plan in the back of your mind.

I'm looking forward to reading your updates

A x

[katebush95]

It’s so great to be reading pre-trippies again 😍 happy planning!

[Elsa42]

Originally Posted by gjdjud

Looking forward to reading along

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Thanks for reading

Originally Posted by katebush95

It’s so great to be reading pre-trippies again 😍 happy planning!

See more...

I feel the same way! I've been reading other peoples and thought it was time to restart mine as i was enjoying being able to read them once again. Thanks for reading

[Elsa42]

Originally Posted by Goldia

Hi Chloe

I hope you're both keeping well. It seems like you've had a hassle free cancellation and re booking experience. May does seem like the perfect time to go with the lovely weather and not too humid like summer. I'd wondered whether you would be tempted by the staycation cruises that are going on this summer around the UK as I know you love to cruise. I looked into Some of them but the prices are eye wateringly high!

Looking at your countdown you will be able to do your 'less than a year' dance soon ... I know you must be disappointed that the trip this September isn't going ahead, but that just means more time for you to plan your trip. How many parks in one day are you thinking? I'm sure you've got an inkling of a plan in the back of your mind.

I'm looking forward to reading your updates

A x

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Hi Abby

How are you all? We are both good thank you! We were extremely lucky with the cancellation and rebooking experience. We thought the cruise was going to cause us a massive issue but a bit of time on the phone to Disney and that was easily sorted.

I must admit I did have a little look although wasn't sure I'd be able to tempt Ryan into going. The prices for the two of us weren't too bad the downside was you have to be fully vaccinated to go on the cruise and with our age bracket not even been called yet we thought it was probably unlikely and didn't want another trip to have to cancel.

We are sad about our trip in September but we feel we will be able to make our May trip even better! It also means theres more time to save to spend more

We cant do some of the challenges we wanted to do such as how many fastpasses can we use in one day as I think even if fastpasses come back it will come with a price tag I'm still thinking 6 parks in 1 day is possible. Ive created two options one where its a completely normal park experience and one with how the parks are now. I did debate 7 parks but the price for car parking would be extreme for one day. I think with the 6 parks it wont be about how many rides we do and i doubt we will beat our personal best but it will be more about getting to all 6 as i think without fastpasses and with park hopping limited like it is now it will be harder to do 3/4 rides per park but we will see. Im looking for other challenges we could do so if you have any ideas!

[Goldia]

Originally Posted by Elsa42

Hi Abby

How are you all? We are both good thank you! We were extremely lucky with the cancellation and rebooking experience. We thought the cruise was going to cause us a massive issue but a bit of time on the phone to Disney and that was easily sorted.

I must admit I did have a little look although wasn't sure I'd be able to tempt Ryan into going. The prices for the two of us weren't too bad the downside was you have to be fully vaccinated to go on the cruise and with our age bracket not even been called yet we thought it was probably unlikely and didn't want another trip to have to cancel.

We are sad about our trip in September but we feel we will be able to make our May trip even better! It also means theres more time to save to spend more

We cant do some of the challenges we wanted to do such as how many fastpasses can we use in one day as I think even if fastpasses come back it will come with a price tag I'm still thinking 6 parks in 1 day is possible. Ive created two options one where its a completely normal park experience and one with how the parks are now. I did debate 7 parks but the price for car parking would be extreme for one day. I think with the 6 parks it wont be about how many rides we do and i doubt we will beat our personal best but it will be more about getting to all 6 as i think without fastpasses and with park hopping limited like it is now it will be harder to do 3/4 rides per park but we will see. Im looking for other challenges we could do so if you have any ideas!

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We're all well, thank you looking forward to more easing of restrictions and hopeful for the future.

Of course, I'd forgotten about the vaccine requirement for the cruise to nowhere. Still a cruise next year will more than make up for not doing one this summer.

Given you've already done 5 parks in one day with an ADR if I remember correctly I reckon 6 parks is certainly do-able if you rope drop to park close. With park hopping not allowed until after 2pm it kind of scuppers any multi park challenges at the moment doesn't it? I'm keen for fast pass to return as that can make a real difference to the day if you grab bonus fast passes. I've been mulling over various challenges:
- doing our favourite rides in all the Disney Parks in one day, this could be do-able if we don't all have different favourites...Perhaps this could be our top 3 attractions in each park.
- doing all the boat rides in all the Disney Parks in one day is an option for a more laid back challenge as the boat rides tend to be family friendly.

I also quite like the idea of scavenger hunt challenges. So maybe I'd add in we have to find 20 hidden Mickeys in the park before we can leave, along with eating something Mickey shaped in each park. On our 4 parks in 1 day we used all modes of transport (pre skyliner), had a photo pass in front of the park icon, did a character meet, used a fast pass, rode at least one thrill ride and had a snack in each park. So I'm kind of adapting that and making it a bit harder/better, depending on your point of view. The other thing i was thinking of adding was asking the cast member at the front of the park when we scan in what their favourite ride is and then doing that ride.

So, lots of ideas and hopefully we get to try them out soon.

[Elsa42]

Originally Posted by Goldia

We're all well, thank you looking forward to more easing of restrictions and hopeful for the future.

Of course, I'd forgotten about the vaccine requirement for the cruise to nowhere. Still a cruise next year will more than make up for not doing one this summer.

Given you've already done 5 parks in one day with an ADR if I remember correctly I reckon 6 parks is certainly do-able if you rope drop to park close. With park hopping not allowed until after 2pm it kind of scuppers any multi park challenges at the moment doesn't it? I'm keen for fast pass to return as that can make a real difference to the day if you grab bonus fast passes. I've been mulling over various challenges:
- doing our favourite rides in all the Disney Parks in one day, this could be do-able if we don't all have different favourites...Perhaps this could be our top 3 attractions in each park.
- doing all the boat rides in all the Disney Parks in one day is an option for a more laid back challenge as the boat rides tend to be family friendly.

I also quite like the idea of scavenger hunt challenges. So maybe I'd add in we have to find 20 hidden Mickeys in the park before we can leave, along with eating something Mickey shaped in each park. On our 4 parks in 1 day we used all modes of transport (pre skyliner), had a photo pass in front of the park icon, did a character meet, used a fast pass, rode at least one thrill ride and had a snack in each park. So I'm kind of adapting that and making it a bit harder/better, depending on your point of view. The other thing i was thinking of adding was asking the cast member at the front of the park when we scan in what their favourite ride is and then doing that ride.

So, lots of ideas and hopefully we get to try them out soon.

See more...

Glad your all ok

I do think 6 parks would still be possible. I think I was maybe being slightly ambitious with the amount of rides i was hoping to complete in one day though. The park hopper restrictions doesn't help things currently I'm hoping things will start to change and this will help us crazy people that like do park challenges. I have a few ideas, I'm making a few plans and we will see how much they change before we go

I like your ideas its great planning a 4 parks challenge and making new ideas to try and complete. I like the idea of asking a cast member what their favourite ride is. Adds something different to the day plus you dont know what you'll end up riding.

[Elsa42]

Mini Update

Hey everyone. Just a little update, theres not too much to report as I haven't done much in the way of booking or planning anything yet. Im currently trying to decide where we should stay.

We cant have the villa for the entire holiday like we originally planned. We had already decided that we would spend two nights at a universal hotel and we are on the cruise for 3 nights. We now need to decide where to stay on our arrival night.

We are trying to decide whether to stay somewhere near the port or drive to Disney and stay the night there and have time to go to Disney springs.

If we decide to stay at Disney for the night then where do we stay?

Our original thought was go big and stay at the Poly as I love it there and Ryan is keen to try it. Then we thought we were wasting money and should we stay at Coronado springs, again I love it here and Ryan hasn't ever stayed there. We tried one of the value resorts on our last trip and we really didn't enjoy it so it would be between a moderate and deluxe.

I did look for Animal Kingdom lodge but it doesn't seem to be available for the night we would like? Does anyone know if this is because its already completely full or are they holding back rooms.

Tickets

I need to pay off the remaining £60 for our renewed tickets which i'm going to do tomorrow. We were originally going to pay for a day at Seaworld and Busch Gardens at the gate but i actually think it makes more sense to pay the 14 day passes.
I need to purchase these at some point but I dont feel like I need to rush on these.

Universal

We already knew we were going to spend a couple of nights at a universal hotel so this will be after the cruise. We wanted to stay in a deluxe so we could get express passes. As we stayed in Royal pacific last time we knew it had to be The Hard Rock Hotel. I haven't booked this yet as i'm keeping an eye on prices however i'm not sure if they actually do change much.

Challenges

We love having a challenge to complete. I know some people aren't for the 4 parks in 1 day challenge but we really enjoy doing them and we feel like we get more done. Last time we did the 5 parks challenge i think we did 20 rides in a day. I know this may not be possible with how the parks are currently but we will see what happens.
Im currently planning our park challenges. Ive got a few ideas so i will share these when i've finished them.

Ive also started to try and bake. I'm really bad at it but everyone at work keeps bringing in delicious treats and I'm always very jealous that i cant do it myself. So each week i try to bake something and i thought whats better than baking than baking Disney recipes. Last week i made Cinnabon's which weren't too bad for a first attempt. I also made some Animal Kingdom's gingerbread cream cheese muffins. They weren't the best looking but they were really tasty. Every Sunday I want to try another recipe so ill update you on tomorrows recipe.

Thats it for now. Hope everyone is ok 😁

Speak soon.

[Goldia]

They look really tasty, good idea to try baking some Disney treats.

I've got a feeling AKL is one of the hotels that's only open for DVC at the moment, maybe that's why it's not showing up with availability for your trip. Is POFQ showing up? As this is another hotel that hasn't reopened yet and as far as I know disney haven't announced any dates for when the mothballed hotels will reopen, hopefully things will get back to normal in time for the 50th anniversary.

Ooh, there's an idea...what about a 50th anniversary style challenge? I'm not sure what that could look like as I've literally only just thought of it!

Have fun with your baking today.